Exotic pets..have/had one? want one? know anyone with an exotic pet?

cheerfulgreek · #1 02-04-2009, 01:08 PM

Does anyone own an exotic pet? When I say exotic, I'm speaking of:

Prairie Dogs
Tarantulas
Emperor Scorpions
Reptiles of any kind
Ferrets
Hedgehogs
Chinchillas (I want one of these, they are so cute)

Saltwater fish

just your not so everyday pet.

I currently have a Mexican redknee tarantula. I bought her when she was really tiny. Now she's gone through two molts and has gotten pretty big. Tarantulas are pretty shy, so she's never bitten me, and she seems to like being held. The problem I'm having is everytime my cat looks into her aquarium she starts to lick her chops.

I like Pac Man frogs too, though I've never owned one of those. The only exotic pets I've owned other than tarantulas were a rat snake, and a ferret.

Oh, and I had a few hermit crabs when I was a kid. I don't know if that counts as exotic though.

ForeverRoses · #2 02-04-2009, 01:16 PM

a friend of mine has a hedgehog. He's cute and all, but I guess I want my pets to be soft. Petting a hedgehog wasn't all that much fun.

cheerfulgreek · #3 02-04-2009, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ForeverRoses

a friend of mine has a hedgehog. He's cute and all, but I guess I want my pets to be soft. Petting a hedgehog wasn't all that much fun.

To me they just look so much larger in pictures than they actually are, until you see one in person, or see someone holding one in pictures.

DrPhil · #4 02-04-2009, 01:20 PM

I had Freddy the Ferret until highschool. He was a white ferret who loved the sugar bowl and was absolutely adorable. He loved to dance around and play with his mouth open. It was cute.

My brother used to think he was attacking him...lol...maybe he was...ungrateful bastard.

He passed away about 15 years ago. R.I.P Freddy.

DaemonSeid · #5 02-04-2009, 01:27 PM

I had

2 Burmese pythons (8 and 10 feet)

1 Ball python (6 feet)

2 Green iguanas ( 4 and 5 feet)

1 red tailed boa...died as a baby

I really want an albino Burmese python...but I need to make space and may have to wait til the dog goes...hehehe

cheerfulgreek · #6 02-04-2009, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

I had

2 Burmese pythons (8 and 10 feet)

1 Ball python (6 feet)

2 Green iguanas ( 4 and 5 feet)

1 red tailed boa...died as a baby

I really want an albino Burmese python...but I need to make space and may have to wait til the dog goes...hehehe

Wow! These are all really cool snakes. I had a yellow rat snake. I bought him because they're regularly found close to human habitation, and they're really easy to take care of. They're also widely available from captive bred stocks. Corn snakes are really cool too. I like their size.

DaemonSeid · #7 02-04-2009, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheerfulgreek

Wow! These are all really cool snakes. I had a yellow rat snake. I bought him because they're regularly found close to human habitation, and they're really easy to take care of. They're also widely available from captive bred stocks. Corn snakes are really cool too. I like their size.

What is comical is when I walk my dog (he's a smallish 60lbs) everyone wants to run up and pet him

When I had my snake and walked with one of them around my neck, I could see people sometimes literally move from one side of teh street to the other....heh.

The dog will bite you long before the snake takes a care to do so....

PeppyGPhiB · #8 02-04-2009, 02:32 PM

I would be scared to visit DaemonSeid and cheerfulgreek.

cheerfulgreek · #9 02-04-2009, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

What is comical is when I walk my dog (he's a smallish 60lbs) everyone wants to run up and pet him

When I had my snake and walked with one of them around my neck, I could see people sometimes literally move from one side of teh street to the other....heh.

The dog will bite you long before the snake takes a care to do so....

lol I know what you mean. My cat has bitten me many times, but my tarantula never has. My cat has her little "I don't want to be held" mood swings.

My tarantula has gone from eating crickets to feeder mice, she's gotten that big. I still give her crickets occasionally, but I don't have to feed her as much when I give her the mice. When my friend comes over, he makes me put my spider in the closet. After she went through her first molt, he came over and thought I bought another spider. lol It was just the exoskeleton. It looks very similar to the actual spider. I thought that was hilarious.

It's funny how people react to pets they're not familiar with.

You're right though. The dog will bite before the snake does.

DaemonSeid · #10 02-04-2009, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheerfulgreek

lol I know what you mean. My cat has bitten me many times, but my tarantula never has. My cat has her little "I don't want to be held" mood swings.

My tarantula has gone from eating crickets to feeder mice, she's gotten that big. I still give her crickets occasionally, but I don't have to feed her as much when I give her the mice. When my friend comes over, he makes me put my spider in the closet. After she went through her first molt, he came over and thought I bought another spider. lol It was just the exoskeleton. It looks very similar to the actual spider. I thought that was hilarious.

It's funny how people react to pets they're not familiar with.

You're right though. The dog will bite before the snake does.

Another funny thing...more guys I know are afraid of reptiles and spiders than they are of dogs...

alum · #11 02-04-2009, 03:41 PM

Not nearly as exotic as a reptile or hairy arachnid:

We have a Bengal. This is a cross-breed between an Asian Leopard Cat and a domestic tabby. She is about the size of a regular housecat but her paws are bigger and she is more agile, dextrous, and noisy than any of our other cats.

KatieKate1244 · #12 02-04-2009, 04:05 PM

One of my boyfriends in high school had a 4 ft iguana that we used to take on walks in a nearby park. The little kids got a kick out of him, their parents...not so much.

I had a turtle that one of my chapter sisters gave to me. However, I found out that turtles are harder to care for than I imagined (more or less a problem with all exotic pets), so I gave him to a local herpetologist. Speedy moved from a large tank into his own pond with two females as company, so I imagine he's pretty happy right now (although he should be hibernating).

I want a raccoon or a skunk as a pet.

cheerfulgreek · #13 02-08-2009, 01:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KatieKate1244

I want a raccoon or a skunk as a pet.

I don't know about having a raccoon as a pet, but some people actually do have skunks as pets. Once the scent glands are removed, they're very similar to ferrets. They're actually related.

epchick · #14 02-04-2009, 09:02 PM

I've ALWAYS wanted a ferret, ever since I was in 6th grade and our class used to babysit the math teacher's ferret.

I have a chihuahua, I think that's close enough for right now.

KSUViolet06 · #15 02-04-2009, 10:04 PM

One of my sister's brother has 4 chinchillas.

They're very cute, but they are not the friendliest things in the world. They don't really like to be touched or petted or picked up, and mostly stay in their "hut" in the back of their little habitat.

Growing up I had a turtle, 2 geckos, and several crabs. I don't know if those qualify as exotic though.